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Sunday, 8 July 2012

Houblon Chouffe

Back in my pub-management days we used to have La Chouffe on tap fairly regularly, and despite it being a whole lot more pricey than the usual beers we had on draught it always used to go pretty quickly. The consumption was also helped along by some very keen staff and their rigorous attention to quality control by way of constant tasting.

As a result of this beer's stable-mate being such an old favourite I was a little worried I might not like this one, it being labelled up as a double IPA, albeit in a hybrid with a tripel form, I thought it might just end up being a one-dimensional hop-monster. My worries were unfounded.

It pours with a slight haze. On the nose there's light citrus; lemon and a hint of pine. It starts light and almost sherberty and then the floral hops kick in on the mid-palate, I love the way the hops sort of sneak up on you as you drink it. For such a strong beer it comes across as really light and refreshing - dangerously drinkable. There's a crisp clean finish that also contributes to its moreish nature. All in all it's pretty spectacular, I really enjoyed it.

5 comments:

I love all Chouffe beers. Whenever I see any of their beer on draught I have to have one but I've only ever seen La Chouffe and N'ice on draught in the UK though... but I have been lucky enough to have Houblon on draught (in Delirium's Hoppy Loft in Brussels). Would love to see Chouffe making a regular appearance on tap lines over here and especially Houblon, which is my favourite. Also, Duvel has owned Chouffe since 2006 so it's about time that it started appearing more often in our supermarkets.

Yes, it'd be good to see more of it but I suppose it depends on how far the ownership stretches. If they are just owners then I suppose they might not affect production levels - in which case there might not be enough about to supply the major supermarkets. I've got a mate who chats to the Duvel rep who's been a source of such goodies for us in the past, I'll get him to ask if I remember.

Ah, yeah, in my thirst for more Chouffe I overlooked the fact that Chouffe is still brewed at the original brewery, which means capacity probably hasn't increased since the Duvel takeover and possibly never will... Oh well, it'll just have to remain an occasional treat!

I'm a big fan of this beer, too. For me it sums up neatly the way in which the Belgians can adopt international beer styles (such as the (increasingly clicheed?) hop forward IPA) and yet still make them very much their own.